Reflection and Looking Forward to 2019

Right now, I feel excited about SVC and where we are and where are going, but, if I am honest about it, I think that 2018 has felt like another tough year. There are many positives and it feels as though we have reached somewhere, but it has been a hard journey getting here.

New Things and People

We have seen changes this year with staff and leaders of ministries and, while it has been sad to see people step down, we have been really blessed with the people stepping up.

The wonderful Stephanie Cooper has stepped down as Children’s Pastor and the amazing Nicky Miles has stepped in her size-ten, steel toe-capped boots. It has been tough for Nicky, taking on a new role in a new venue where no one knows what is going on and we have had a few obstacles chucked at us, but she has been amazing and she deserves a massive hug when you see her.

Earlier on in the year, Mary handed Rock over to Jon Pickering. She is still an absolutely crucial part of the Rock team and very committed. Again, she had a tough time of it over recent years, with half her Rock team stepping back, and having to find a way to make it work in the midst of all that, while staying totally committed to the kids and her family. She was awesome, and Jon has been able to build on a strong foundation as a result. This year saw the famous “pig in the python” hit Rock. In 2007, there were 15 babies born to the people of SVC and we have watched with fear and trepidation as this group has worked its way through kids ministry in their unstoppable march to Rock. Now they are there, and happy, and bringing much to the whole group. It is exciting to talk to my boys who are both loving it.

We bought the OC outright. This was a nightmare that lasted over a year and at the very last minute, my amazing dad stepped in and made it all possible. But it is ours now, complete with fully up-to-date fire safety, which Nick thoughtfully tested when he set light to the cooker.

On 20th December, our CAP centre closed its doors after 11 1/2 years. (read the previous blog for a reflection on that)

And we are at the URC now.

Identity

I think that we have spent a long time struggling to work out who we are. Having to move out of Bitterne Park School and spend a year at St George’s really affected us more than I had ever anticipated it would. They were great to us, and the venue was fantastic, and to honest, when we moved there I was thinking that this was going to be our home, but in reality, it felt as though we were displaced or in exile almost from the outset.

Moving to the URC has felt like coming up for air. There is no doubt that there have been, and continue to be, lots of logistical issues – not to mention that is it freezing – but it feels like home. In fact, to me, it feels more like home than anywhere else we have met and it feels as though we are the start of a journey and in the end, we will be able to fully make it our own. When we first met with the URC elders, we were upfront and said that we would like to lease the whole building from them in the long-term, and when that happens then we will be far more able to SVC it.

More than anything, this last few months has felt like we are finding our identity again. I would never have imagined that a Sunday venue would have that much affect on us, but that is undoubtedly part of it. More than that though, we have played around with meeting structures and tried to find a way to work it that better reflects our theology. The one thing that I can guarantee is that things will keep being tweeked. As Wimber famously said, “change is here to stay”. We have to keep asking questions and re-evaluating what we do and why we do it so that we never do things just because that is how we always have but because they better point us towards Jesus and help us to be better followers of his.

If I were to sum up 2018 in one word it would be “identity”. This year has been about working out who we, as SVC, really are as our little part of the mosaic that makes up the church in the city and the UK.

Where are we at right now?

Let’s be honest, the church has reduced in size over the last year or two.

Does that mean anything? Is that a problem? I guess that remains to be seen. It does put more pressure on people to serve and, given that we have 50% children, that means that it is putting more pressure on people who are already tired and stretched, which is not ideal, and I remain in awe of you people as you have stepped up and served and served. Thank you.

The URC has made Sundays easier in terms of workload, and It makes me laugh that the weeks we are in the church hall and have to set up feel like such hard work, when we had done that for the last 26 years before we moved in September!

Looking Forward

We are finding our identity, and I think we need to lift up our heads now, as we head into 2019, and so my priority, as we look into this new year, is the mission of Jesus:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.”

– Luke 4:18-19

What’s that going to look like? I do not know, but I want us to be a safe home for the marginalised and a people who have compassion engraved so deeply on our hearts that it defines us.

So, to start with, as we head out into 2019, the question I would love to be at the forefront of all our minds, every day, and in every situation is, “who can we love today and what will that look like?”